Educational device



L. M. BRUHN EDUCATIONAL DEVICE June 16, 1925.

Filed Feb. 2, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 chicken had wie

2%. j@ M im 2 Q 2M. a@ am@ In M @a W NN 2 wmro NN W m @dal ' hij ATTORNEYS L. M. BRUHN EDUCATIONAL DEVICE Filed Feb 2, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR IMQ/77,41

ATTORNEYS Key to Snnces June 16, 1925.

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Patented .lune 16, 1925.

application tied February it, that. derlei it'o. Whitt. i

To all willem it may concern:

Be it lrnown that limer lid.. Bauern, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Jamaica Plain, Boston, in the county ot it Sutlollr and State ot Massachusetts, have invented new and useful improvements in Educational Devices, oi which the Jiollowing is a specication.I

'lihis invention relates to an amusement itl and an educational device. Irllhe invention is carried out by means of a series oi bloclrs by which a particular predetermined scheme ot forming sentences can be accomplished. llt is especially adapted to amuse lt and at the same time instruct children in `"building up and reading simple sentences.

The principal object ot the invention is to permit the child to play with building bloclrs tor the purpose ot building simple ttl sentences so that it is more tully taught sentence'structure without recognizing it as worh. finother object is to provide hindergarten or primary i .z de school material tor the seit activity ot the child.

lli? ith these and other objects in view., the invention is embodied in the means coordi= nated with common building blocks in the manner and torna illustrated and described.

lin the drawings, l f

liig. l represents a perspective view ot a series ot blocks taken troni a set d arranged to carry out the invention;

llig. n is a view oi the same series ot v bloclrs but with one bloch turned or rotated it to a diderent position; f

Fig. 3 is another -view ot the saine bloclrs with the sides ot three other bloclrs turned or rotated to dierent positions;

lFig. 4; is a pers ective view ot another series taken trom t e set showing a dinerent arrangement of the'blocks in carrying out the invention;

Fig. 5 isa view ofthe blocksin Fig. t y with' certain of the blocks rotated to a 45 diiierent position; f Fig. 6 1s a portion ot the key to 'sentences which. accompanies each set ot blocks; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of' the remaining 50 blocks in the set arranged in a box.

It will be understood that the blocks illustrated area few only of a set Aof blocks used till to carry out the invention. With a set., many didlerent combinations may be made With diderent series ofthe blocks and il will now describe the use ot the series ot bloclrs illustrated which will be the same as with any other designated series.

lt will be observed that each bloclr carries a distinctive number on each side which hts into a certain series ot numbers on the key to sentences.9 d child is given yor allowed to pick out bloclrs corresponding to one series ot the number 'combinations shown on the lrey yand then the bloclrs are arranged according tothe order ot the u ai bers in the particular series. lit simple sentence is thus formed ot the words which are printed on the sides as is illustrated in the drawings. l'lhe words are selected tor the different sides around one anis ot each block so that no matter what side is upturned in rotating the. bloclr on said anis., a completed sentence is termed it the order ot the bloclrs is lrept intact. lit is thus apparent that as any Vbloclr is rotated on its proper anis in place, a great variety ot sentences appear with diderent words in each sentence. A child is thus instructed in the building up ot sentences using ditierent sets oi words tor diderent sentences while at the saine time there is the play teature which holds the childs interest in the instruction.

'the child is particularly attraeted blthetact that upon the rotation ot any one oclr or all ot the series, new sentences are iormed 'which gives anelement oit' surprise to its pla llyhave conned thisteaturel to rotating `the bloclrs around the axis through their ends in order that tha words will appear right side up in the sentenceand it is obvious that it is necessary to use only the tour sides oi' a block around a common axis., in contrast'to the ends, tor exhibiting the words in this manner. vlhe words d numbers on these four sides are all printed in the same color., preferably in blaclr, and the series of numbers in the hey to sentences will be correspondingl Y printed in black. ltfwill be therefore un erstood that with a given series of black numbers in the key all the corresponding blocks can be? through their ends rotated around an axis lid titl

titi

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and the words will appear right side up in the sentence.

For the purpose of utilizing the end faces of the blocks but in such a way as to ,prevent words appearing in the sentence wrong side up and also to provide additional combinations and to add a further element of novelty in the use of theblocks, the end faces may have printed thereon words and the distinctive block number in different colors, such as red word and number on one end and a green word and number on the other end. The words for these end faces are not selected so that they will fit in and make sense in va sentence formed by a series of black numbers, and therefore in the key to sentences whenever'` a sentence is to be formed having an end face word appearing therein, a colored number will appear in the series of numbers in the key corresponding to the particular color and number on the end face of the block to be used in making up the sentence. llt will be understood that a colored number in a series of numbers calls for the end face of the block having the particular colored word thereon and that particular block is not to be rotated. Such an arrangement of a series of blocks is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and in Fig. 6 in the key toesentences a series of numbers appears in which there is a colored number correspondin to the colored word appearing on the en of the block in the sentence. In my present embodiment l have used one of the end faces for exhibiting a word printed in red while on the other end I have placed a letter ofthe alphabet in green, although the latter face may have a word and number printed in green thereon.

This additional element lends variety in the manipulation of the blocks according to the series of numbers given in the key. This feature also makes the game more attractive because the child using it` by manipulating the blocks learns progressively and finds renewed interest in making less obvious combinations.

It is clear from the description that with a large set of blocks two or more children can lay together and make up contests basedP on the speed with which a given number or kind of sentences can be built up.

rlhe invention has the merit of simplicit as well as the advantage of the great multiplicity of things which can be done by the child with such simple means. i

What l claim is 1. An educational device comprising a plurality of blocks, each block having an incompleted sentence or' vocabulary unit 'and an index designation exhibited on one or more of its sides, said index designation be ing different for each block but the same on the various sides of each separate block, sald blocks adapted to be dierently ar- Lseaoai ranged side by side according to predetermined combinations of said index designations whereby said vocabulary units form different completed sentences. l

2. An educational device comprising a series of blocks, eachblock having a pluralityv of vocabulary units and an index designation on its sides, said index designation being `different for each block but the same on the various sides of each separate I5 block, said blocks adapted to be differently arranged-according to predetermined combinations of said index designations whereby said vocabulary units form different completed sentences. e0

3. An educational device comprising a series of cubical blocks, each block having a` different vocabulary unit and an index designation exhibited on each of its sides parallel to an. axis through its ends, said 8a index designation being di'erent for each block but the same on the various sides of each separate block, said blocks adapted to be dierently arranged end to endy in a predetermined order of the said index designa- @o tions,` and to be rotated about said axis whereby said di'erent vocabulary units of one block will make different completed sentences with the different vocabulary units of each other of the blocks.

vbe differently arranged end to end in a redetermined order of said index designatlons and to be rotated about said axis whereb said different vocabulary units of one block will make different completed sentences with the different vocabulary units of each other of the blocks, and vocabulary units nl@ and index desi ations oa character cony trasting with t at of said first named unitsv and designations exhibited onv one or bothY of said ends whereby further combinations of vocabulary units to give completed sen- M5 tences may 'be obtained according to a pre- V determined order of both of said index designations.

5. .The combination with a series of blocks, each having a 4vocabulary unit' ex- 3&2@ hibited on one or more of its sides. of a distinctive number for each block, said number exhibited with each vocabulary unit whereby said blocks are arranged side byl side according to predetermined combinations of said numbers to form different completed sentences of said vocabulary units.

6. The combination with a; series of cubical blocks, each having a vocabulary unit i exhibited on each of its sides parallel to an of said blocks, said blocks adapted to he axis through its ends, of a distinctive numrotated about said axis to form different ber for each block on said sides whereby completed sentences of the other voeabu- 10 said blocks are arranged end to end aceordlary units.

ing to predetermined combinations of said In testimony whereof I have affixed my numbersto form a. completed sentence of signature.

the vocabulary units on the upturned faces LUCY M. BRUHN. 

